STAINED GLASS WITH ENGINEERS.....

Many years ago, when Jim and I were first married, we did all sorts of things together, and with each new adventure, I realized that working with an engineer is a completely different experience.

For example, cooking a meal with an engineer is... different... and through this experience, I always giggled saying that I should write a book called, "Cooking with Engineers"...  and there are follow up books called, "Traveling with Engineers", "Vacations with Engineers", "Raising Children with Engineers"... just seems there is a completely different mindset.

Well, as you know, we are building a cabin and I really wanted to put some of my stained glass work in the different rooms.  I have done stained glass for years, and I think it looks beautiful with sunshine flowing through the different panels of coloured glass.

So, I designed a large piece to go into the main floor bathroom... It's actually two panels of glass, side by side, with one pattern flowing into the other.  The pattern is sunflowers, so I am imagining the bright yellows and greens lighting up this room.

This might not make sense to you, but just go with me on this...  this is what the original pattern looks like...

(With the pattern, you place the glass over top, and cut each individual glass piece and then solder them together with lead.. you can use foil, but I prefer lead.  These particular pieces are about 3 feet tall.  Doesn't look like much right now, but as I start building, I'll update the pictures....)

I put the patterns together, and asked Jim to give me exact dimensions to make sure the two panels actually fit. Now, I've been doing this for years, and I kinda know what I'm doing.  The house that we built on the south bench in Provo had transoms all through it.  So, this isn't my first rodeo.  It's straight forward... make the pattern, pick out the glass, cut the glass, solder together, have it insulated, install in house...

...this is where the "working with engineers" part comes in...  giggle.

This is what Jim gave me after we discussed the windows...  He says we have to calculate the wood to hold up the loft so it doesn't crush the windows and there has to be a beam between the windows.  Duh. . . . So now there's 10 freakin inches between my two windows.

 

When did this get so freakin' complicated...  I've never seen so many calculations...  I told him that I had glass pieces put into my house on Washington Avenue, and he told me that Carl Moore, our framer must have hated me... WHAT?  Well not really.  The framer hated me?  He never said anything of the sort.. and we're still friends on facebook!!!  But he did have to cut into the house to put my windows in. . . .

I just like working with glass...  Didn't realize it was so complicated...

Cheri